Finding relevance in the digital age

Fred Cook, global chairman, Golin, was in India last week, with a number of things on his to-do list, which couldn't keep him from thinking of the marathons he’d be participating in back home.

Cook was released GolinOpinion’s (the PR division of PointNine Lintas) Relevance India. This is a study that was also conducted in 13 markets, including India, covering over 13,000 respondents. This particular research focused on three categories that touch billions of lives: social media, personal banking and automotive; and indicated that in the battle for relevance, truth is having a moment of truth. Click here to read the highlights of the study which was created in collaborated with USC Annenberg School for Journalism and Communications.

Brand Equity got a chance of speaking to Cook at length about the new study, what relevance means to marketing, the importance of life experiences and more. Read on...

“Let’s study human minds”

Cook’s observations on consumer habits may make him sound like an expert in psychology, but the fact is that he doesn’t have any formal education even in business development. For Cook, the travel opportunities that he gets, makes him gather human behaviour which he then tries to connect while working with his clients.

The Relevance study was inspired by changes taking place in the world, says Cook. He also mentions that the exercise was to look at how human beings manage information that is around them, and above all, to understand if they are even listening to things.

The human mind is selective when bombarded with brand information. This may not be the best news for advertisers, but consumers' constant hunt for trustworthy products counts as a good news. While many buy a particular product or service, the trustworthiness of brand makes them worried.

As far as Indian consumers are concerned Cook believes that they are extremely optimistic and respectful about brands. His only piece of advice: explore the countryside of India. These areas will change the country’s economic and social dynamics; for which building trust will become critical.

“Dear millennials, keep improvising”

In 2014, Cook authored a book titled “Improvise – Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO,” in which he shares his life experiences. He is of the opinion that while today’s millennials are extremely smart and know what to do, there is one thing they lack – the art of learning of from life.

Hence, Cook’s sole mantra is to help millennials he meets is to improvise. “I want to practice what I preach, and in my session titled Improvise, I ask every student who I interact with to try out something new in each class, something that they have never done before. This truly helps them to mature in a different way,” he believes.

“Brands need to stop trying hard”

Do you remember “The Generic Millennial Ad” that was doing the rounds a few weeks ago?

The video made by Dissolve along with Brooklyn design agency And/Or, is a classic example of what brands are trying to do these days in the name of targeting the millennials. Cook states this particular video made his funny bones tickle.

“Brands should understand that most millennials these days are not paying attention to advertising. If you make a decent product and just communicate that to them, half your job is done. Please don’t try so hard, and turn them off. Keep it simple,” concludes Cook.